Feds look to Va. for offshore wind

Companies considering building wind farms off Virginia’s coast will likely be asked next month to submit proposals to the federal government.

The plan, stated during a conference call Tuesday by Tommy Beaudreau, director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, would place Virginia among the front runners of Atlantic Coast states vying to develop the renewable energy resource.

“It’s basically going to determine who is interested in securing a lease here,” said George Hagerman, director of research for the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium.

Multiple companies, including Richmond-based Dominion Resources and Apex Offshore Wind in Charlottesville, have expressed interest in placing turbines off Virginia’s coast. But they can’t move forward without approval from the federal government, which regulates waters three miles offshore and beyond.

The bureau has already initiated the process in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware; three states, along with Virginia, that the Obama administration identified in February as primary spots for offshore wind farms. Beaudreau said the bureau will begin selling leases to the highest bidder no later than 2012.

At least eight companies submitted proposals for Maryland, according to the bureau’s website. Hagerman hopes to see a similar response in Virginia, which has singled out 140,000 acres located roughly 20 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia Beach for offshore wind power.

The area could support enough turbines to produce 3,200 megawatts of electricity, or roughly 10 percent of the state’s power demand, according to a consortium report. But a number of stumbling blocks could stall offshore wind development, the report says

Building offshore wind farms is more expensive that coal-fired or natural gas power plants, according to the report, but the difference could be cut in half if wind power components are built in Virginia.

The nascent industry is coalescing, especially in Hampton Roads, which has deep, ice-free shipping lanes and is located in the middle of the coast. Companies such as Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. and Norfolk-based Maersk Line Ltd. have partnered with other firms to create spinoffs to capitalize on the growing market.

While there is only one approved offshore wind farm in the U.S. — Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts — many are being planned. The industry has the support of the Obama adminstration, which is working to reduce regulatory hurdles that dragged on for 10 years developing Cape Wind.

“We’re very optimistic and bullish about the future of offshore wind,” said U.S. Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, also on the conference call.

Salazar also announced the bureau would begin taking comment on Atlantic Wind Connection’s plan to build an underwater transmission line from Virginia Beach to New Jersey. The multibillion project is headed by Internet giant Google and several other companies.

The plan includes building four smaller lines that would connect to substations on land, including one in Virginia Beach. It may face competition — Dominion is one of several power companies on the East Coast studying building their own transmission lines.

David J. Hayes, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, said the agency is aware of the potential competition and that it will move quickly to approve any acceptable plans.

“We’re not playing favorites here at the Department of Interior. We’re moving forward with all viable applications,” he said.